The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 5: The First Mission

There was a loud banging on the other side of Alexander's door. On a Saturday morning, no less.

He opened the door to see Anastasia Velda.

They stared at each other in silence.

"So basically," she began. "...my grandparents told me it's rude to show up inside someone's house. So here I am. Outside. Knocking. Like a respectful person."

"Okay, but... But why?"

"We have a mission."

"Didn't Archibald say the demon wouldn't manifest or whatever until like two months from now?"

"Different mission. We gotta go."

Alexander spat out a heavy sigh.

Monday through Wednesday, he had gotten into fights and been beaten up.  All Alexander hoped for was a few days of not having to fight nor exert himself. But it seems he brought himself into a situation where even that would be unlikely.

Either way, he wasn't planning on doing much. And so... "Alright then," he said, letting out another sigh. "Let's just go."

Anastasia stared at him.

"You're gonna go like that?" she asked.

Alexander paused. "Is there a problem with the way I'm dressed or something?"

"You're wearing cargo shorts."

"What's wrong with cargo shorts?"

Again, she stared at him in silence.

With a snap of her fingers, the scene changed.

They appeared in Archibald's office.

His eyes widened and the air was knocked from within that same second. His knees nearly buckled as he realized what just happened.

"Jesus Christ, that was weird," he said, grabbing onto the wall at his side, slowly catching his breath.

"Yeah, that was teleportation. I'm trying to get used to it, rather than just always using Connections, y'know?" she said, laughing as she patted Alexander's back.

Alexander nodded and gave her a thumbs-up as he raised his head, trying to drown out the feeling to throw up.

Sitting across the room were the rest of the Virtues.

"Alright," Archibald said, clapping his hands. "Now that you're all here..." he said, setting down a piece of paper on the table. "I have a mission for you all."

"There's no need for unnecessary explanations. Basically... There's a curse I want you guys to take care of."

"Cool," Leonard said.

Gabriel picked up the sheet of paper. "Wait, this says Earth. Not Midgard."

"We're going to Earth?" Giovanna asked, a smile growing on her face.

Giovanna was probably the youngest of the Virtues. Her voice was lighter, her face was softer, as well as being the shortest of the group.

She had pale brown skin, and darker hair that cascaded down her back. Even so, her eyes were the color of emeralds.

Giovanna slightly reminded Alexander of his sister. He smiled to himself as that thought ran across his mind.

Archibald nodded at her question.

Gabriel stood up and faced Anastasia, who was standing at the opposite end of the room.

"Can you get us there?"